Quercus virginiana is an evergreen Tree growing to 20 m (65ft 7in) at a medium rate. It is hardy to zone (UK) 7 and is not frost tender. It is in leaf 12-Jan It is in flower in April. The flowers are monoecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but both sexes can be found on the same plant) and are pollinated by Wind.Suitable for: medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and can grow in heavy clay soil. Suitable pH: acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in saline soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers dry or moist soil. The plant can tolerates strong winds but not maritime exposure.

Seed - raw or cooked[63, 161, 171]. Low in tannin, it has a sweet flavour[82]. The seed is usually produced in clusters of 3 - 5 and is about 25mm long and 10mm wide[82, 200]. It is about 12mm long according to another report[227]. It can be dried, ground into a powder and used as a thickening in stews etc or mixed with cereals for making bread. The seed contains bitter tannins, these can be leached out by thoroughly washing the seed in running water though many minerals will also be lost. Either the whole seed can be used or the seed can be dried and ground it into a powder. It can take several days or even weeks to properly leach whole seeds, one method was to wrap them in a cloth bag and place them in a stream. Leaching the powder is quicker. A simple taste test can tell when the tannin has been leached. The traditional method of preparing the seed was to bury it in boggy ground overwinter. The germinating seed was dug up in the spring when it would have lost most of its astringency. An edible oil obtained from the seed is used for cooking[149, 161, 177]. The roasted seed is a coffee substitute.

Medicinal Uses

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The bark is astringent[257]. A decoction has been used in the treatment of dysentery[257]. A decoction of the wood chips or the bark has been applied externally as an astringent analgesic to treat aches and pains, sores and haemorrhoids[257]. Any galls produced on the tree are strongly astringent and can be used in the treatment of haemorrhages, chronic diarrhoea, dysentery etc[4].

A mulch of the leaves repels slugs, grubs etc, though fresh leaves should not be used as these can inhibit plant growth[20]. Oak galls are excrescences that are sometimes produced in great numbers on the tree and are caused by the activity of the larvae of different insects. The insects live inside these galls, obtaining their nutrient therein. When the insect pupates and leaves, the gall can be used as a rich source of tannin, that can also be used as a dyestuff[4]. The bark is a commercial source of tannin[149, 227]. Dyes of various colours can be obtained from the bark[257]. Wood - very heavy, hard, strong, tough, close grained but difficult to work. It weighs 59lb per cubic foot. It is used for making hubs, cogs, shipbuilding etc[46, 61, 82, 149, 171, 227]. A very good fuel[229].

Cultivation details

Prefers a good deep fertile loam which can be on the stiff side[1, 11]. Young plants tolerate reasonable levels of side shade[200]. Trees can stand considerable salinity, often growing close to the sea[227]. They tolerate moderate exposure, surviving well but being somewhat stunted[200]. This species seems to be susceptible to soil types, producing dwarf forms and diverse leaf forms under certain conditions[227]. Prefers warmer summers than are usually experienced in Britain, trees often grow poorly in this country and fail to properly ripen their wood resulting in frost damage overwinter[11, 200]. The tree flowers on new growth produced in spring, the seed ripening in its first year[200, 229]. Abundant crops are usually produced in the wild[229]. Intolerant of root disturbance, trees should be planted in their permanent positions whilst young[11]. Hybridizes freely with other members of the genus[200]. Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus[200].

Propagation

Seed - it quickly loses viability if it is allowed to dry out. It can be stored moist and cool overwinter but is best sown as soon as it is ripe in an outdoor seed bed, though it must be protected from mice, squirrels etc. Small quantities of seed can be sown in deep pots in a cold frame. Plants produce a deep taproot and need to be planted out into their permanent positions as soon as possible, in fact seed sown in situ will produce the best trees[11]. Trees should not be left in a nursery bed for more than 2 growing seasons without being moved or they will transplant very badly.

Other Names

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Weed Potential

Right plant wrong place. We are currently updating this section.
Please note that a plant may be invasive in one area but may not in your area so it’s worth checking.

Thank you for the excellent information on planting seeds. I've been trying the wrong methods until now. Had I run across this article earlier I would have more trees and fewer fat squirrels!

Glenn Sanderson

Mon Feb 6 2006

Can the Live Oak be propogated by taking small trees from the wild if the tap root is
successfully dug up without damage? [email protected]

David Boyer

Sun Jul 2 2006

Does Quercus fusiformis develop a taproot like Quercus virginiana??
reply @ [email protected] please. I am an arborist in Austin Texas and
am trying to do research on the taproot development of Oaks here, any
help is greatly appreciated. Thank You, David Boyer.

Ove

Fri Feb 27 2009

great page! I was just wondering if this Quercus virginiana oak is the same oak that can be seen in Oak Alley(live oak)?
And is it possible to grow such a tree in Norway... if not, why?
/Ove

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